Chapter 54 54 – Burden Lifted

After taking a bath, Kai returned to his room with a towel wrapped around his waist and found a set of black shirts and pants on top of a neatly folded futon. These were his outfits that got ripped up in some parts yesterday.

He didn't know who placed those in his room, maybe a servant, but he appreciated it. They were already fixed and looked brand new.

After inspecting them shortly, he got dressed and tied his hair in a low ponytail like always with a rubber band he found under the clothes.

"Even the rubber band." He muttered with a smile as he looked down at his appearance. It was a shame his suit was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it was destroyed to the point it couldn't be fixed anymore.

"Well, this is enough. At least I don't have to wear hakama or yukata again. Those are a bit uncomfortable for me."

Satisfied with his outfit, Kai smiled and was about to exit his room. However, the door was opened before he could do that. Two people appeared from the other side. They were Amber and Ibaraki Douji. Both of them were wearing red and black kimonos, respectively.

Amber's Kimono was tight, showing her body curves. It had a green flower pattern and a white obi belt around the waist area. In contrast, Ibaraki's Kimono was loose and exposed the cleavage that wasn't hidden by her black bodysuit. It had some yellow flower patterns around the skirt area.

The Phoenix girl had a big smile on her face as she waved her hand. They entered the room and sat on the tatami floor.

"Good morning, Kai. Did you have fun?"

"Yeah… Thanks to you." He added some sarcasm in his tone. "Why did you allow Shuten to meet me, anyway?"

"She said she would help replenish your Spirit Power, so I didn't stop her. Did you get mad at me for allowing her into your room? It was just a kiss, no?"

"I also hope it was just a kiss." Kai held his head and sat in front of the girls.

It seemed like there was some… miscommunication. Kai understood it fully.

"It's that damn Shuten's fault."

He could guess what had happened from what Amber had said. Because of their contract, the Phoenix girl couldn't lie to him. He would know about it when Amber lied; she just told him the truth when she asked him about a kiss earlier.

That meant Amber knew nothing about Shuten Douji's plan. It wasn't like he didn't like doing that with the Oni god. No, it was great. But still… He wanted to at least do that when he was ready and sober, not because he was drunk and excited due to certain alcohol.

"Your bad words came out, you know?" Seeing Kai couldn't control his own words, Amber giggled. She was a smart girl. With just a few hints from him, she could know what happened was far beyond a simple kiss and replenishing Kai's missing Spirit Power.

Ibaraki Douji also realized it. Her face flushed red as she fidgeted. Then she stared straight into Kai's eyes.

"Please forgive my boss. She hasn't experienced a man's touch since a thousand years ago. So… She might be a bit excited when meeting you, Master." She sounded a bit down but also happy at the same time.

"It's not like I am mad or anything," Kai reassured the Oni that was contracted to him. "I was just a bit... put off by the fact she gave me alcohol that made me… you know?"

"I guess you can feel that way." Amber nodded. "So, did you regret it?"

"Honestly? Only a little bit. Suppose she looked the way she did when we first met, then maybe I would feel a lot guiltier. But somehow she grew, like… do you know anything about it, Ibaraki?"

"I do know something, Master." Ibaraki nodded in confirmation.

"Boss is a special Oni even for me. Her appearance right now isn't her real appearance. She shrunk her body to control her strength from destroying everything. The way she originally looked isn't too different from my current appearance."

"I see." Kai understood that.

Shuten Douji, in the legend, was said to be really strong. Rampaging through ancient Kyoto and destroying everything with massive strength was how the legend about Shuten Douji was.

But the strength she displayed yesterday was far from what could be called rampaging. She was indeed strong and monstrous, but Kai felt like he could do the same thing when he fused with Ibaraki, which was strange.

The Oni god should be stronger than even Ibaraki by a rather big margin.

'So she's keeping her strength by shrinking her body. That's rather cheating.'

Not that he complained, but his conscience was saved, and he didn't feel guilty for sleeping with someone who looked like in her high school last night. Maybe he would really feel like he deserved jail if Shuten was still in her loli appearance.

When lost in thought, Amber suddenly clapped her hand loudly, making him turn his head to the smiling Phoenix girl.

"Now that's over. I want to ask what we should do after this, Kai. Should we return to your home? Or do you have any plans?"

"Ah, about that…" Kai smiled softly. All the burden in his chest was gone. "I want to say farewell to Kirimaru and Ranga first. Then, I want to visit a grave."

"A grave?" Amber tilted her head, and so was Ibaraki.

"Yes." He nodded at them and added. "My mother's grave."

***

In a certain area filled with dead wheat, a figure could be seen moving while dragging their feet in the dead of night.

Slow and surely, it moved backward while plowing the field with a hoe in their hands. Its silhouette was lit by the full moon hovering in the sky.

If one looked closely at the figure, they would notice a rag they wore was already worn out. Their jeans were ripped, and their hat had a hole in the back.

But the figure didn't care. They kept plowing the field while humming a short laugh.

"Khisisisisi."

Their laugh was in a low tone and sent a shiver down one's spine. Scary, endangering. Everyone would run when they heard it. The birds flew away from them.

Then it suddenly stopped, and their head that was covered in a brown rag with two X drawn on the eyes section and a big O drawn on the mouth section was the only thing that could be seen. Their faces were fully covered.

"Kishi."

They raised their hoe high and plowed it on the ground. The O mouth moved, something that wasn't expected from a drawing. It created an arc across their faces.

Then, it spoke with a voice that could be described as hoarse and came from hell.

"Kishisisi. The Boogeyman has returned."